My brother Gerry and his wife Linda started hosting annual family reunions 20 odd years ago. For many years these events, called Rendezvous, were held at their home on Cedar Lake near Aitkin, MN. It was a great location for the event, with plenty of room to pitch tents and to play volleyball and pickleball. The lake, of course, was great fun for the kids and provided opportunities to fish, canoe or take the pontoon boat out for a leisurely sunset cruise.
A few years ago Gerry became the victim of a very rare illness that made hosting the event impractical, so my brother, Pat, and his wife Julie took on the task. They have a lovely home and yard in Fridley, MN, right on the Mississippi River.
There are usually about 40 people at the reunions, and all age groups are present. They’re a great group of folks: smart, witty, talented, diverse, accomplished and fun to be with.
I’m 65 years old and the last of 8 children, so the older siblings are getting up there in age - dare I say elderly? It’s daunting though, to get health updates from the older siblings. The lurid details of their multitudinous pains, afflictions and worn out body parts can get downright scary. This year we came up with a label for these harrowing tales of infirmities, drugs and therapies: Organ Recitals.
What a charming picture of the family gathering--right up to the organ recital. Speaking of, my brother Duncan had surgery today to remove part of his large intestine due to a growth that was not ordained. He's doing okay--we're waiting for the 3 day biopsy to come back. He is donating a kidney to someone and this came up in the preliminaries. Just to help you not feel bereft of the family chatter...
ReplyDeletePS I am sorry about your brother's illness. I am thinking that the Minnesotans would probably like to have a reunion in sunny Lake Havasu City for about 3 months in the winter.
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